London might boast its own NBA franchise by the end of the decade, it was
confirmed ahead of the historic game between the Toronto Raptors and New
Jersey Nets at the O2 Arena

“We are seriously thinking about it and have been for some time,” confirmed Adam Silver, deputy commissioner of the NBA, before tip-off of the first NBA regular season game to be staged in Europe.

“It’s part of commissioner Dave Stern’s vision for the future but in the past the lack of an infrastructure has made it difficult but that’s not the case now.

“Part of the reason we are here in London this weekend is to experiment, to see how the players react to the travel, the logistics and to get an idea on ticket prices. We are very serious and I would envisage it happening within the next decade.”

Some may be sceptical, just as they were 16 months ago when Stern first mentioned the vague possibility of the O2 staging a regular season NBA fixture.

American television networks are excited by the possibilities of London as a regular venue and with the profile of the city and the O2 set to go through the roof next year it could be that Silver is erring on the side of caution with his prediction.

The NBA is on a crusade to globalise the sport, with its double-header weekend illustrating that. The Raptors are a Canadian franchise with two of Europe’s top players – Andrea Bargnani, of Italy, and Spain’s José Calderón – underpinning their efforts.

The Nets, meanwhile, feature Sasha Vujacic, from Slovenia, and are owned by Russian multi-billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who is using some of his $14 billion personal fortune to help fund their construction of an arena in Brooklyn which should be ready for the Nets to move into later next year. The game is changing like never before.